Rights in the U.S. Constitution

RIGHTS IN THE U.S. CONSTITUTION

SS.7.C.2.4Evaluate rights contained in the Bill of Rights and other amendments to the Constitution.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Lesson Summary………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 2

Essential Content Background……………………………………………………………………………. 4

Civics Content Vocabulary…………………………………………………………………………………... 7

Suggested Student Activity Sequence…………………………………………………………………... 8

Student Activity Resources/Handouts………………………………………………………………… 11

Sources………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 20

Answer Keys……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 21

Lesson Summary

Essential Question

What rights are protected by the Bill of Rights and other amendments to the U.S. Constitution?

NGSSS Benchmark

SS.7.C.2.4Evaluate rights contained in the Bill of Rights and other amendments to the Constitution.

Florida Standards

LAFS.68.RH.1.1LAFS.68.RH.1.2LAFS.68.RH.3.7LAFS.68.WHST.1.1

LAFS.68.WHST.2.4LAFS.68.WHST.3.7LAFS.68.WHST.4.10LAFS.7.SL.1.1

Roles, Rights, and Responsibilities of Citizens | SS.7.C.2.4 – Updated 7/15 |1

Overview

In this lesson, students will understand what is in the Bill of Rights, what rights the Bill of Rights and other amendments protect, and how the Bill of Rights influences both individuals and society.

Learning Goals/Benchmark Clarifications

Students will recognize that the Bill of Rights comprises the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Students will recognize the five freedoms protected by the First Amendment.
Students will evaluate how the Bill of Rights influences individual actions and social interactions.
Students will use scenarios to identify rights protected by the Bill of Rights.
Students will use scenarios to recognize violations of the Bill of Rights or other constitutional amendments.

Benchmark Content Limits

Items will not require students to cite specific court cases or specific amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

Civics EOC Reporting Category

Reporting Category 2 – Roles, Rights, and Responsibilities of Citizens

Suggested Time Frame

Four 45-50 minute class periods

Civics Content Vocabulary

Roles, Rights, and Responsibilities of Citizens | SS.7.C.2.4 – Updated 7/15 |1

Bill of Rights, cruel and unusual punishment, double jeopardy, due process, eminent domain, equal protection under the law, First Amendment, pleading the fifth, right to bear arms, right to legal counsel, search and seizure, suffrage, trial by jury, unenumerated rights (Ninth Amendment)

Instructional Strategies

Roles, Rights, and Responsibilities of Citizens | SS.7.C.2.4 – Updated 7/15 |1

Reading complex text
Cooperative learning
Video as text

Directed note taking

Roles, Rights, and Responsibilities of Citizens | SS.7.C.2.4 – Updated 7/15 |1

Materials

Projector to display word documents, websites and video from Time.com

Blank copier paper for foldable activity

Chart paper

Student activity sheets and reading materials

You’ve Got Rights!student activity sheetfrom iCivics:
The U.S. Bill of Rights Guided Notes
Blogging the Bill of Rights Template
Bill of Rights Scenarios
Applying the Bill of Rights

Roles, Rights, and Responsibilities of Citizens | SS.7.C.2.4 – Updated 7/15 |1

Lesson Activities and Daily Schedule

Please use the chart below to track activity completion.

Day / Task # / Steps in Lesson / Description / Completed?
Yes/No
Day One / Task 1 / 1-4 / Hook Activity: You’ve Got Rights!
Part One
Task 2 / 5-11 / Bill of Rights Guided Notes
Task 3 / 12-15 / First Amendment Video
Day Two / Task 4 / 16-19 / Bill of Rights Foldable Activity
Task 5 / 20 & 21 / You’ve Got Rights! Part Two
Day Three / Task 6 / 22-32 / Blogging the Bill of Rights
Day Four / Task 7 / 33-38 / Bill of Rights Today
Task 8 / 39 / Checking for Understanding

Essential Content Background

This section addresses the following issues:

The U.S. Bill of Rights: Substance, Background and Ratification
Extension of the Bill of Rights to the States
The Florida Declaration of Rights: Substance, Background and Ratification

1. The U.S. Bill of Rights: Substance, Background and Ratification

The “Bill of Rights” is the first ten amendments of the U.S. Constitution; the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791. It was intended to protect the people from the federal government abusing its power, specifically as to the rights of political and religious expression, the rights and protections accorded individuals accused of crimes, private property protection, and the rights of the people as they relate to federal and state laws. The Bill of Rights also includes rights related to gun ownership and the housing (quartering) of soldiers.

While the Bill of Rights was not included in the original U.S. Constitution, the notion that the federal government would abuse its powers relative to the people was very much a part of the constitutional debate. The Anti-Federalists, who advocated states ’ rights and decentralized government, strongly opposed the federal, shared powers arrangement advocated by the Federalists reflected in the U.S. Constitution. The Anti-Federalists feared that the failure of the Federalists to include rights that would protect the people from the federal government would result in that government abusing its newly acquired power. The Anti-Federalists suggested a compromise position where, once the Constitution was ratified, a series of amendments enumerating specific protections would be considered by the new Congress.

The first word of the Bill of Rights, “Congress”, speaks to the focus of the Bill of Rights on the federal government. Under the Bill of Rights, citizens are guaranteed the right to free speech, free press, free religious exercise, assembly, and the right to petition the government. Citizens are also guaranteed that Congress will not establish a religion, which is a right related to, though different from, free religious exercise. The Bill of Rights also protects those accused of a crime in that they are entitled to due process of law, and are protected from incriminating themselves, “cruel and unusual” punishment, unreasonable search and seizure and being tried twice for committing the same crime. The concept of “due process” also includes the right to legal representation in criminal trials, the right to face one’s accuser, and the right to trial by jury. The Bill of Rights also protects property rights in that citizens may not be forced to house military personnel during peacetime and only during wartime by an Act of Congress, and that citizens’ property may only be taken with “just compensation”.

The Ninth Amendment recognizes that the Bill of Rights does not include all rights that are protected by the Bill of Rights. The Ninth Amendment states that rights that are not otherwise listed (enumerated) remain extended to the people. Rights not listed in the first eight amendments that have been recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court as Ninth Amendment rights include the right to privacy and the right to have children.

Other rights that have been extended to citizens linked to political expression include the right to vote (suffrage). These rights are enumerated in the 14th, 15th, 19th and 26th amendments as they extend to specific populations, as well as other voting rights related to election procedures (24th Amendment). For more information related to the 14th, 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th amendments, see the lesson for SS.7.C.3.7 – Analyze the impact of the 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th amendments on participation of minority groups in the American political process.

2. Extension of the Bill of Rights to the States

The Bill of Rights has been subject to extensive interpretation by the U.S. Supreme Court. Many argue that the most notable interpretation occurred when the Court decided, in Gitlow v. New York (1925), that the 14th amendment could serve as a tool for applying the Bill of Rights to state law. The 14th amendment includes “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” The Gitlow case extended the “equal protection” and “due process” clauses of the Bill of Rights to the states on a selective basis. Because states may not deny U.S. citizens their due process and equal protection rights under the 14th amendment, U.S. citizens are protected when state laws deny them their rights under the federal Bill of Rights.

The process where the U.S. Supreme Court interprets state laws according to the protections established in the Bill of Rights is called “selective incorporation”—the court “selects” cases dealing with specific laws that, if found to violate the federal Bill of Rights, are “incorporated” into the Bill of Rights. This holds true even though the Bill of Rights was intended to protect citizens from the federal government and not the state governments.

Below is a table of key cases where state laws have been found to violate the Bill of Rights:

Case / Year / Provision / Amendment
Gitlow v. New York / 1925 / Freedom of Speech / First
Near v. Minnesota / 1931 / Freedom of the Press / First
Powell v. Alabama / 1932 / Right to counsel in capital cases / Sixth
De Jonge v. Oregon / 1937 / Freedom of assembly; Right to petition / First
Cantwell v. Connecticut / 1940 / Free exercise of religion / First
Everson v. Board of Education / 1947 / No establishment of religion / First
In re Oliver / 1948 / Right to public trial / Sixth
Wolf v. Colorado / 1949 / Rights against unreasonable search and seizure / Fourth
Mapp v. Ohio / 1961 / Exclusionary rule / Fourth (and Fifth)
Robinson v. California / 1962 / Right against cruel and unusual punishment / Eighth
Gideon v. Wainwright / 1963 / Right to counsel in felony cases / Sixth
Malloy v. Hogan / 1964 / Right against self-incrimination / Fifth
Pointer v. Texas / 1965 / Right to confront witnesses / Sixth
Griswold v. Connecticut / 1965 / Privacy / First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth,Ninth
Miranda v. Arizona / 1966 / Protection from self-incrimination / Fifth
Parker v. Gladden / 1966 / Right to impartial jury / Sixth
In re Gault / 1966 / Right to due process / Fourteenth
Klopfer v. North Carolina / 1967 / Right to speedy trial / Sixth
Washington v. Texas / 1967 / Right to compulsory process / Sixth
Duncan v. Louisiana / 1968 / Right to jury trial in cases involving serious crime / Sixth
Benton v. Maryland / 1969 / Right against double jeopardy / Fifth
Tinker v. Des Moines / 1969 / Right to symbolic political expression / First
Argersinger v. Hamlin / 1972 / Right to counsel in any criminal case with potential sentence of incarceration / Sixth
Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier / 1988 / Freedom of the press / First
District of Columbia v. Heller / 2007 / Gun ownership/gun control / Second

3. The Florida Declaration of Rights: Substance, Background and Ratification

The Florida Declaration of Rights was added to Florida’s original 1833 Constitution in 1865. The current Declaration of Rights was included in Florida’s current constitution, which was ratified in 1968. Since Florida’s current constitution was put into place, the Declaration of Rights has been amended several times, most recently in 2004. The Florida Declaration of Rights is Article I, the first section of the current Florida Constitution. Many of the rights enumerated in the Florida Declaration of Rights are the same as, or similar to, the rights enumerated in the U.S. Bill of Rights. Recent additions to the Florida Declaration of Rights include the right to privacy (1998), access to public records and public meetings (2002), a taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (1992), and fair compensation for medical liability (2004).

Civics Content Vocabulary

Word/Term / Part of Speech / Definition
Bill of Rights / proper noun / the first ten amendments of the U.S. Constitution
cruel and unusual punishment / phrase / punishment prohibited by the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution; includes torture or other forms of punishment too severe for the crime committed
double jeopardy / phrase / the prosecution of a defendant for a criminal offense for which he has already been tried; prohibited in the Fifth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution
due process / phrase / the right of people accused of crimes to have laws that treat them fairly, so that they cannot lose their life or freedom without having their legal rights protected
eminent domain / phrase / the right of the government to take private property for public use; the Fifth Amendment requires that people be paid fairly (compensated) for their property if it is taken by the government
equal protectionunder the law / phrase / a guarantee under the 14th Amendment that a state must treat a citizen or class of citizens the same as it treats other citizens or classes in like circumstances
First Amendment / proper noun / an amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibiting Congress from establishing a religion, and from interfering with freedom of religious exercise, press, speech, assembly, or petition
pleading the fifth / phrase / the right of a person to refuse totestify underoath in acourt of law on the grounds that the answers could be used as evidence against him to convict him of a criminal offense
right to bear arms / phrase / the idea in the Second Amendment that people have an individual right to own and carry weapons
right to legal counsel / phrase / the right of a defendant to be assisted by an attorney, and if he cannot afford his own lawyer, the government must appoint one for him; established in the Sixth Amendment
search and seizure / phrase / the process by which police or other authorities who suspect that acrimehas been committed do a search of a person's property and collect evidence related to the crime; protection from illegal search and seizure is in the Fourth Amendment
suffrage / noun / the right to vote; protected in the 15th, 19th, 24thand 26thAmendments
trial by jury / phrase / a trial in which the issue is determined by a judge and a jury, usually with 12 members, whose job is to determine facts and make a judgment of guilty or not guilty; protected in the Sixth Amendment
unenumerated rights / phrase / according to the Ninth Amendment, any right that is not specifically addressed in the Constitution still may be protected (e.g., privacy)

Suggested Student Activity Sequence

To begin this lesson, pass out copies of the “You’ve Got Rights!” student activity sheet from iCivics:
Read the paragraph aloud at the top of the activity sheet.
Instruct students to complete the “Pamphlet of Protections” checklist independently.
Have students share out by taking a poll of which right received the most votes from students.
Pass out the “United States Bill of Rights Guided Notes” student activity sheet.
Explain to students that the Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments, or changes, to the U.S. Constitution.
Explain to students that as a whole class they will read through the text of each amendment and write the central idea on the spaces below each amendment.
Begin with the First Amendment and read the text aloud to the whole class. Explain to students that the First Amendment contains five freedoms.
Reread the First Amendment and ask students to identify what they think are the five freedoms. Instruct students to add the five freedoms to their activity sheet.
Read through the rest of the amendments one at a time.
Call on students to summarize the central idea(s) in each amendment. Teacher note: Utilize the Sample Answers section for this activity sheet to guide your discussion.
Write the following questions on the board:

Why was free religious exercise so important to the Founders?
Why were the freedoms of press, speech, and assembly so important to the Founders?
Why was the right to petition so important to the Founders?

Explain to students that they will watch a video about the First Amendment. Their task is to take notes on the three questions while watching the video.
Play the “Why the First Amendment is Foremost” from Time.com:
Provide time for students to review their notes and write answers for the video viewing questions in complete sentences. Have students share out.
Pass out a letter size piece of white copy paper to each student. Instruct the students to fold the paper in half four times so that they create a 4-column/4-row table. The paper should have 16 boxes.
Instruct students to position their paper horizontally. Instruct students to write “The Bill of Rights” in the first box and to write their name in the last box.
Explain to students that their task is to create a visual representation of the five freedoms in the First Amendment and for each additional amendment contained in the Bill of Rights. Show students the example on page 14.
Have students share their foldable and explain some of the visual representations they created.
Have students take out the “You’ve Got Rights!” student activity sheet.
Pose the following questions for discussion: “How does your list compare with the Bill of Rights? Did you mark rights on your activity sheet that do not match any of the amendments in the Bill of Rights? Why do you think this is?”
Project the “Rights Listed in Amendments” handout and scroll down to the second graphic organizer.
Explain to students that amendments have been added to the U.S. Constitution to deal with the issue of suffrage (the right to vote) and ensuring that all citizens have equal protection under the law.
Project the following questions on the board: “How do the rights contained in the Bill of Rights influence individual actions and social interactions? Why do you think this is? Can you think of examples from real life of how the Bill of Rights impacts actions and social interactions?”
Provide time for students to work with their group and answer each question.
Have students share out.
Keep students in theircooperative groups and give each group a large piece of chart paper.
Pass out the “Blog Template” and the “Bill of Rights Scenarios” student activity sheets.
Have the students format the chart paper exactly how the template looks. Teacher note: If students use a rectangle shaped piece of paper, have them fold the paper and outline the folds instead of drawing the template “free hand.” This will help save on time.
Explain to students that they will complete a simulated blogging activity about how the rights contained in the Bill of Rights are protected and identifying situations when they are violated.
Provide the following steps for the blogging activity:
STEP 1: Have the students write their Scenario in the rectangle located at the top of the “blog” page.
STEP 2: Have the students design a visual or “avatar” and a name to represent their group as a blogger. Have the students draw this image in the first square next to the Scenario.
STEP 3: Have the students pass their blog to the group closest to them.
STEP 4: Have the group who has just received the blog to draw their visual or “avatar” in the second square under the scenario.
STEP 5: Have the group write their opinion/response to the scenario in the rectangle next to their visual or “avatar”. Make sure the students address the violation, and give an opinion.
Repeat steps 3-5 until all groups have “blogged” about each scenario.
Pass out the “Applying the Bill of Rights” student activity sheet. Conclude the blogging activity by having students complete this activity sheet independently.
Distribute “The Bill of Rights Today” student activity sheet and divide students into groups of four.
Have student groups research current events that illustrate the individual rights and protections guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. Encourage students to look at the local paper or TV station. If computers are available, suggest websites especially for students, such as:

If computers are not available, give students copies of their local paper.